Purchasing a home can be the most major financial event in your life. Given that, you want to ensure you are doing everything you can to avoid overpaying for your dream home. It’s not that difficult, but unfortunately you do not have a long time to decide. What is the best price to offer that maximizes your value while, at the same time, makes a fair offer to the seller? If you are working with a local Real Estate Professional who is knowledgeable and you trust they can assist you in arriving at the right number. These professionals are there to make recommendations to you based on their experience, the final decision on what to offer is your own.
5 Tips On Making An Offer On A Home:
1. Cash wins. When making a cash offer you should offer a certain percentage LESS than the list price.
2. Never, ever pay the full asking price. Contact the Listing Agent directly for the ability to pay a lower price.
3. Ask More Than Just The Internet. Ask around to your relatives, co-workers, neighbors and close personal friends. Chances are, some of them have purchased homes recently and can give you tips on what worked out best for them.
4. Length of Listing Matters. If the listing has been on the market for some time, the sellers could be desperate and may be willing to take any offer.
5. Ask for Seller Concessions. If you’re tight on funds for closing, trying to lower your overall costs or just like saving money, it can be worthwhile asking the seller to pay for certain fees associated with a real estate closing including: property taxes, loan or funding fees, HOI costs, appraisal fees and repair costs. Chances are they will agree – ending in you saving hundreds or possibly thousands.
Getting Pre-Approved by a lender (if you are financing) is an important step to take when you start entertaining purchasing a home. It lets you know exactly what you can afford, thereby, making your dream home an actual reality. Also, most sellers won’t even consider your offer if you do not have a pre-approval letter. Occasionally, buyers will look at homes up to $100,000 over their approved credit thinking they can offer much less than the asking price when they submit their offer. This is likely to fail and cause disappointment for you.
Additional Notes
• Getting The Numbers – A Real Estate Professional has access to tools which can assist you in determining the fair market value for the home you wish to make an offer on. Having your agent pull comparable sales data within the area gives you meaningful numbers on which to base your offer.
• Best Offer, Final Offer – Are there multiple offers on the home you are interested in? Don’t be tempted to offer significantly less than the asking price if it’s the home you really want. Long story short…best house, best offer.
• Be Fair – If you really want the house, be fair with your offer. This not only applies to the pricing, but also the inspection. Asking for too much movement with regards to the price or items found during a home inspection can kill the deal.
When it comes down to finding the right home and making an offer that’s truly a win-win for everyone, don’t waste time and stress trying to do it all yourself – Leave it to the professionals and hire a Real Estate Agent…a Buyer’s Agent if possible. You’ll be glad you did. Need a recommendation? Give us a call and we can help you find the right pro in your area!
In the meantime…Happy House Hunting!
-The FMT-